Winter Drink: Maple Leaf Cocktail

At the start of the New Year, we filled a small notebook with things we wanted to do in 2013. One suggestion was to find a signature drink to mark each season. We thought this would be a nice way of noting the passage of time, celebrating seasonal flavors, and pretending our house was an upscale restaurant.

The idea of a seasonal drink started last summer. Amanda and I declared the shandy our summer drink and kept our church stocked with San Pellegrino Limonata and either a good pilsner or hefeweizen. The shandy* is a simple concoction of light beer mixed with carbonated lemonade, and this refreshing drink was perfect for one of the hottest, driest summers on record. It helped to make our un-airconditioned house more tolerable, but by September we were ready to move on to another drink.

This winter we have been drinking a maple leaf cocktail. We usually drink bourbon straight or with ice, but were intrigued by this recipe that brings together sweet, salty and sour flavors. It is delicious, and does a great job keeping us warm on a snowy evening.

As winter comes to an end we have begun our search for our spring inspired drink. Let us know if you have a favorite beverage (with our without alcohol) that is suited for the rainy days of March, April and May.

*the shandy has 100 different names including shandygaff, panaché, kivelthä, bicicletta, or radler which vary from country (or region) and by the types of beer or mixer